NUGGETS 113, LAKERS 96: Ty Lawson ignited a spectacular start and finished with a playoff career-high 32 points as host Denver stomped Los Angeles and an ailing Kobe Bryant to tie the first-round series at three games apiece.

Lawson nailed five of six 3-pointers and sparked a game-opening 13-0 run as the Nuggets led wire-to-wire to force a Game 7 in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Corey Brewer scored 18 points off the bench and rookie Kenneth Faried had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Denver, which is trying to become the ninth team in NBA history to win a seven-game series after trailing 3-1.

Bryant, despite playing with a stomach virus that forced him to miss the team's morning shootaround, scored 31 points while playing 37 minutes.

Aside from a brief rally in the second quarter, it was a sickly performance by Los Angeles, which received a combined five first-half points from big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

The Nuggets pulled away from a nine-point halftime lead by scoring the first nine points of the second half. Lawson had 13 points and Faried added nine as Denver built the lead to as many as 25 points before taking a 90-68 cushion into the fourth.

Brewer squashed any comeback hopes by the Lakers, scoring Denver's first 11 points of the fourth to push the margin to a staggering 101-73 with just under eight minutes to play.

Bynum finished with 11 points and 16 boards and Gasol scored a season-low three points on 1-of-10 shooting.

Lawson set the tone from the outset for the Nuggets, who bolted to a 13-0 lead as the Lakers missed their first eight shots. Lawson buried four 3-pointers to make it 23-8 en route to a 30-20 lead after one quarter.

Bryant led a second-quarter comeback, cutting the deficit to four points before Denver scored seven of the final nine points to take a 54-45 halftime lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nuggets backup C Chris Andersen, who has not played in the series, was "excused indefinitely" from all team activities Thursday. He is under investigation by the Douglas County (Colo.) Internet Crimes Against Children unit. Deputies searched Andersen's home Thursday, but he has not been arrested. ... Lakers F Ron Artest is eligible to return for Game 7. He was suspended seven games for a vicious elbow to the face of Oklahoma City's James Harden in the next-to-last game of the regular season. ... Lawson had hit only two 3-pointers in the first five games, but doubled that output in the first six minutes of the opening quarter. ... The Phoenix Suns were the last team to erase a 3-1 series deficit, beating the Lakers in 2006.